During World War II, Kentucky grew industrial hemp for fabrics, ropes and military materials. Two Republican candidates for agriculture commissioner in Kentucky, James Comer and Rob Rothenburger, support re-establishing a hemp industry, despite widespread public concern that legally grown hemp will boost the cultivation and use of its close cousin, marijuana. Hemp contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, the mind-altering component of marijuana, and cannot be grown legally in the U.S. Comer considers hemp a viable alternative crop “if the federal government would provide Kentucky with a waiver and let a few farmers do a trial run on it.” The two candidates and a crowded field of Democratic candidates debated this issue (and many others) in May 2011.

Source: www.votehemp.com/state/kentucky.html